Osi joliet



Jan. 14, 1930. G' "MGFORD Re. 17,561

Original Filed Feb. 20, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 14, 1930. G' L^NGFR Re. 17,561

RAIL JOINT Original Filed Feb. 20. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 O O O o W O o o O DI f3 E QfWvenzw/ l 560/196 apw JMS.

Jan. 14, 1930.

G. LANGFORD RAIL JOINT Re. l 7,561

Original Filed Feb. 20, 1925 5 Sheets-Smet 5 Qnverz, Gea/"gefawd Jan. 14, 1930.

. LANGFORD RAIL Jom'r Re 17,561

original Filed Feb. 2o, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Mmw G. LANGFORD Re.v '17,561

Jan. 14, 1930.

RAIL J CINT original Filed Feb. 2o. 1925 5 sheatssh 5 'eorge Langford Mm Maf di 7765565/ MMM. 4f@

Reimed Jan. `14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orig-Ice GEORGE LANeroan, 'or JOLIET, ILLINOIS, AssIGNcn rro MOKENNA raocnss COMPANY OF ILLINOIS, OF JULIET, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS RAIL nJOINT Original No. 1,582,428, dated November 17, 1925, Serial No. 10,537, led February 20, 1925. `Application for reissue led February 18, 1929. Serial No. 840,937.

. My invention relates to rail joints.

In railroad tracks it is desirable tomake the joints between the ends of rails of as nearly the same characteristics as the intermediate rail as is possible. This is because track laid upon ties, asis the present practice, is an undulating structure falling and rising as the load of the wheels passes over the same. The joint should not be more rigid nor less rigid than the continuous rail. Practically this desideratum is not attainable. The strength of the joint at the cut between rail ends is the strength of the bars But away from the cut the strength of the joint is that ofthe rail plus the strength of the bars, where the bars extend. The result is the stiifest part of the rail is immediatel adjacent the weakest part.

he more the joint departs from the char:

acteristic of the continuous rail, the less advantageous fs the joint and the greater will be the wear upon the same. j

But with the bars now in use the concentrated deflection results in concentrated wear to the extent of loosening the fit between the angular bearing surfaces of bar and ra-il end. The trapezoidal section of the bar is designed to wedge the barbetween the lower face of the head and the top face of the iiange to secure a tight lit initially. The bar is designed to be drawn tight to take u wear as it occurs, draw space. being provi ed but it will be seen thatlas wear is concentrated at the center, taking up equally on the bolts will not restore the fit properly. Also the weakestpart of the bar 1s rendered still weaker by wear.

Now according to the present Ainvention I provide a bar which has greater depth at the cent-er than at the ends and hence has two qualities or properties whichV are of great value. center of the bar provided by increased depth, reduces deiection and hence wear. Next. the increased depth insures a fit with the bearing slrfaces of the rail ends even though they become worn.

The manner in which I am able to accomplish this will become apparent from the following detailed `description and claims,

First the increased strength at theV suili it to say here that I crown the angular bearing surfaces and lex the bar laterally to gain the greatest eiect from such crowning. That is to say, the crowning tends to make the central part fit but the ends to be loose to a variable extent depending upon the condition of the bearing surfaces of the rail. I take up the lack of fit by lateral flexing of the ends of the bar, which bar thus becomes a. s rin tendin at all times to hold the centra sur aces in c ose engagement.

AIn order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the mode of practicing the present invention, Ijshall describe in connection with the accompanying drawings a specific Inan ner of practicing the same.

In the drawings: e

Figure 1 is a cross section of such as is now in common use; Fig. 1A is a cross section of a simplified form of joint for purposesot illustration;

Fig. Q is a side view with bolt heads cut away of the joint shown in Fig. 1^;

Flgs. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating the action of a wheel passing over a joint;

Fig. v5 is a side view similar to Fig. 2 of a worn joint;

Fig. 6 is aside view and Fig. 7 an end view of a renewed bar for curing the defect caused by wear and shown in Fig. 5*

Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic illustrations in isometricprojection of a bar which shows how the crowned bar may be ,made t`o fit vthe bearing surfaces of the rail; j

Fig 10 is a side view and Fig. 11 an end view of a bar having a crown along a greater part of the center than would correspond to the Wear of the rails.

Fig. 12 is a side view and Fig. 13 an end view of the aforesaid lbar after Ait is flexed to make it fit the .bearing surfaces of the rail, i. e'., new rail.; A

Fig. 14 is a side view andF ig. 15 an end view and Fig. 16 a top plan viewof a bar which is crowned andthickened at thecenter, the thickening metal being applied o n the outside face of the bar;

Figs. 17, 18 and 19 are side, end, and top a mii joint ,o

planl views of a crowned bar showing the thickening applied to the'inner side of the bar to produce in effect a bowing of the inner surface; Y

Figs. 20, 21, and 22 are similiar views of a crowned bar of uniform thicknessbowed out to give greater spring action;

Fig. 23 is an end view of a joint embodying my invention showing how the bars are drawn in at the ends to make the crowned ed es fit along the full length of the bar;

ig. 24 is a sectional view of a joint embodying my invention and employing angle bars of conventional section' and Figure is an outer side view of a bar similar in its general construction to the bar of Figures y20 to 22, but having its central portion straight.

In Fig. 1, I have shown in end elevation a joint such as is commonly employed in tracks as now constructed, this joint comprising the angle bars 1, 1 laced on each side of the rail at the point w ere the joint between adjacent ends is to be made. These bars have angularly dis osed bearing surfaces 2, 2 bea ing against t e bottom surfaces 3, 3 of t e head which is indicated at 4. The ang e which these surfaces make with the horizo tal is generally of the order of twelve degre s, although this may be varied if desired. T e bars 1, 1 is cut away or relieved, as indicat d imparting lateral strength to the bar, a d providing at the same tlme angular beari g i surfaces 6, 6, which co-operate with simil r surfaces 7, 7 on the top of the flange of t e rail 4. The flanges 5, 5 do not bear on t e base flange surface 7 7 of the rail througho t their entire width, but only for a limted d stance as, for example,between the points i dicated at 8 ,and 9. The central part of t e bars 1, 1 is cut away or relieved, as indicat d at 10, in order to save weight and metal. T e bars areV made of a size such that there is a clearance space, as indicated at 11, betwe n the inner surfaces of the bars and the w b of the rail 4.

The surfaces 2, 3 and 6, 7 are subject to w r particularly at the central part of the b r where the actual cut in the rail is located, and

50 :the joint becomes loose due to such wear. The

clearance 11 permits the bars 1 to be pressed inwardly to take up the same, as by tightenin up the bolts 12. he wear which of the bars is due primarily to the passing wheels over the oints and depressing the end of one rail wi y respect to the end of the other rail, therebybringing the bars und er bending stresses and shear.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated the manner in which the wheel passing over the joint tends to subject the bar to punishment. As the wheel 15 moves across the joint it first e ncounters a part of the joint Where the bar 16 makes the rail more rigid than the uncut rail occursiat the central pa rt ofv because of the bracing action of the bar thereupon, then as the wheel approaches the cut 17 between rail ends, the bar 16 is subjected to shear and to bending stress which puts a maximum of pressure upon the surface adj acent the extreme ends of the rails. For example, in Fig. 3 the bottom bearing surface of the head is pressed down sharply upon the top of the bar 16 while the bar presses down in turn upon the top surface of the iiange of the rail 13. The ends of the bar 16 bear against corresponding surfaces of the rail ends 13 and 14, but the leverage thereis greater, so that the maximum punishment comes upon the central part of the bar 16. As the wheel 15 passes over the gap or cut 17, the wheel tends to leave the one rail striking the raised end of the rail 13 and then depressing said end as is shown in Fig. 4.

Now I have shown in Figs. 3 and 4 a flat bar trapezoidal in section as constituting the joining bar for the ends of the rail. For the sake o illustration, I haveshown such a joint in section in Fig. 1A and it will simplify the explanation ofthe invention to consider the joint as bein made by such Hat bars 16, as indicated in Flg. 1^.

The angle for the surfaces 2, 6 is of the order of twenty-four degrees, although this may be varied. The angle of the bearing sur faces of the bars is made the same as the angle of the bearing surfaces of the rails. Due to the wear, which has been mentioned above, the bearing surfaces become worn away as indicated at 18 and 19 in Fig. 5.

I do not mean to indicate that rail joints are actually as loose and carelessly made as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but intend these diagrams to show the tendencies involved. As a matter of fact, a perfectly tight joint will cause wearat 18 and 19 from no other cause than the deiiection of the bar. It is well known to those' who are familiar with the subject that the passing of a wheel over a rail causes it to fiex and modern road beds are designed to permit the same. The load ofthe w eel is a concentrated load and as it shifts along it tends to move the point of depression along the rail, so that theV rail actually moves downward and upward as the load passes onto and off of it. The result is that when the rail passes over the joint, even if the joint is absolutely tight, so far as drawing up the bolts is concerned, and so far as the contact between surfaces is concerned, the bending of the bars to even a slight degree results in a rubbing action between the surfaces 2, 3, and 6, 7 with the result that continued rubbing wears away the metal to the point where actual play occurs and then the pounding action which follows the existence of play augments the play and the joint rapidly deteriorates.

The expansion an contraction due to changes in temperature is another contributing factor to wear, but this is not necessarily concentrated on the central part of the bar.

In my co-pending application, Serial N o. 10,536 filed February 20, 1925, I have disclosed the fundamental conception of renewing a worn bar by pressing in the side faces and pushing out the end faces to a section which will tit the worn surfaces ofthe rail.

Such shape of bar is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 where a certain amount of crown or extrusion, as indicated at 21 and 22, is produced by thinningr the central part of the bar, as indicated at the dotted lines 23 in Fig. 7. This bar, produced by thinning the central portion thereof, involves the fundamental concept above referred to. which may be applied equally Well to either crowned or uncrowned bars, and I believe a bar formed in this manner to be broadly new whether such bar be crowned or uncrowned and, if crowned, whether it be crowned at the head, or the flange, or both. The showing of this bar is largely diagrammatic and is intended to illustrate the principle of thinning of the central portion of the bar for either restoring or increasing the fishing height thereof. This principle is applicable to bars of various types, and the manner of its application to bars can be varied widely within the scope of my invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I find that the principle of this crowned or expanded bar permits the joint to be applied to unworn rail ends for securing a tight joint.

Assume, for example, that there is a dihedral angle, such as shown at Q4 in Fig. 8, which is the dihedral angle formed between faces 3 and 7 on the rail and that this is to be engaged by a bar having greater depth at the center than at the end, such as is illustrated, for example, at 25 in Fig. 8. The cen tral part of the bar 25 is tangent to the sides of the dihedral angle Q4 and the ends of the bar are, so long as the bar is straight, out of Contact with the planes defining the dihedral angle.

The angle of the edges varies from the cen` tral part 26 to the ends 2T Vfor the purpose of securing a uniform tit between said end faces 2T and the corresponding planes of the dihedral angle 24. The variation in the angle along the top and bottoni oll the bar may be secured by suitably grinding the dies in which the bars are formed.

I may leave the angle uniform along top and bottom in which case, when the bar is lowered, the area of contact at the central part of the bar will be a maximum, giving maximum strength at this point and then the area will taper otl' toward the ends with corresponding decrease in strength and rigidity of the joint at said ends.

Now assume that the bar 25, as shown in Fig. 8, is forced into the position shown in Fig. 9, that is, the ends are drawn in until they fit between the sides of the dihedral angle 24. This means that the entire edge 26 and 27 at top and bottom fits into the space between the sides defining the dihedral angle and the upper edge and the lower edge of the bar 25 lie in the corresponding planes defining the dihedral angle.

Now it can be seen that if a bar, whether of thinner section at the center or of uniform section throughout, be formed as shown in Fig. 6, such a bar may, by proper flexing thereof, be made to fit into the dihedral angll` defined by the planes 3, 7 of the rail.

I have shown in Fig. 10 a bar of even and uniform thickness between its side faces, but being crowned or swelled as to its vertical dimension, in Figs. 10 and 11.

Such bar may now be employed either for forming a joint in connection with new rails, or it may be employed in repairing a joint of worn rails, since the central crowned portion may either be arched out, as indicated in Figs. 1:2 and 13 for forming a joint with new rails, or may remain straight when the saine is used in conjunction with the repairing of worn rails. In other words, I now have produced a bar which is useful in connection either with worn rail ends or in connection with new rail ends for forming a joint.

The new bar is preferably rolled into long strips, is then cut to length, die formed to the propel' formation, and then punched, or punched at the same time that it is die formed.

The production of such bar inthe proper size, shape, and contour, will be readily coinprehended by those skilled in the art.

Now it is not essential that the ends of the bar be made parallel, as indicated at 30 in Fig. 10, and the central part only crowned for, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, I may form the edge faces of the bar 31, shown in Fig. 14, with uniform arch or crown upon each edge 32 from end to end. At the same time the central part of the bar may be thickened. as is indicated at 33 in Fig. 15, to increase the strength of the bar at the portion subjected to the greatest stress by hend ing in the ends. This secures the desirable results of increasing the strength of the joint at the portion which heretofore has been tirst subject to weakness.

Instead of adding the thickening metal to the outside of the bar, it may be added to the inside of the bar, as indicated at in Figs. 18 and 19, the bar 34 otherwise being like that shown in Fig. 14, namely, evenly arched along its top and bottom edges.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. 15, 16, 18 and 19, the bar thickened at its central portion, as above described, tapers in thickness from its central portion toward its ends. The fishing or bearing surfaces of such a bar, at both the head and the foot thereof, will necessarily the bar 36 is of uniform the joint tig taper in width from the central portion of the bar toward the ends there-of, as clearly shown in Figs. 16 and 19. This is inherent in a bar constructed in the manner illustrated and described. The tapering of the fishing surfaces, as above, is advantageous as counteractingl to a certain extent, the tendency of the central portion of the bar to wear more rapidly'than the end portions, when the bar is aplied in a joint. v

If desired, the bar may be given a camber or bow to increase the tension upon the central part to secure a better follow-up action, as shown in Figs. 20, 21, and Q2. In this ease thickness and it has its top and bottom edges crowned, as is aparent from the drawing, and in addition it 1s bowed with the central part extending 1nwardly and the ends 37 extending outwardly,

so that when the end bolts are drawn up the central part of the bar is forced into contact with the surfaces 3 and 7 of the rail to produce a pressure and, at the same time, a takeup or sprin action which will tend to keep t for a longer time and also will tend to present much greater strength where it is seated.

Fig.'23 shows such a bar as that indicated in Figs. 2O to 22, inclusive` applied to two adjacent rail ends to form a joint.

It will now be seen that the ends 37 arc arched in until the surfaces 2 and 3 fit along the full lengthof the bar independently of the central bolt, the end bolts, which draw in the ends of the bars and which have not been illustrated for the sake of clearness, make a tight joint and the pressure which may be applied by means of the central bolts, merely increases the pressure between the surfaces 2, 3 and 6, 7. The central bolts are not strictly necessary, since the spring action of the bars is sufficient to cause the wedge surfaces to engage each other. Such bolts, however, are desirable for strengthening the joint against lateral displacement.

In Fig. 24 I have illustrated a rail joint in which the bars 40 are formed of the conventional angle section and are crowned along the center to secure a fit between the surfaces 2, 3 and 6, 7 along the center before the same occurs at the endsof the bar, so that the ends of the bar must be drawn in tight by the end bolts, the bar then serving as a spring.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. 23 and 24, the ends of the bar are disposed substantially within the vertical planes of head 4 of the rail, and the central part of the bar extends outwardly a short distance beyond such plane. The flanges of the wheels passing over the joint strike the central part of the bar, but the blow is a glancing one, since the bar is inclined from each end outwardly to the central part thereof. I thus avoid subjecting the bar to pounding and injurious stresses resulting therefrom, such as occurs where the ends of the bar project outwardly beyond the rail head an a preciable distance and are struck direct b ows by the flanges of the wheels. In this manner, I am enabled to use a bar of abnormal height at its central part, this bar having at its central part a raw space much greater than the corresponding draw space of bars of present construction, such as are in common use and are considered as standard. This bar, constructed and applied in the manner disclosed, assures a highly efficient joint and has a much longer life than bars of standard type above referred to, now in common use.

In one example of an embodiment of my invention I provide a twenty-four inch bar in which the central part of the bar is substantially straight for five inches along the center, and 315 inch higher for the head wearing surface 2,-and 51g inch deeper on the flange wearing surface 6 for substantially the same distance, the quarter inch draw space 11, which prevails at the center, being reduced to one-eighth inch draw space at the ends. Such a bar is shown, in outer side view, in Figure 25. In other words, the bar makes a bow or camber of one-eighth inch, as between the center and ends.

In practice I do not find it necessary to vary the angle of the edge faces nor to form the crown as a strictly accurate curve, such as I have illustrated in Fig. 8, but merely an approximation thereof. Also the central part is in practice somewhat flattened off instead of being sharply crowned or arched, as this conforms more nearly to the requirements of new bars, namely, that the central part be substantially straight and the ends only bowed in. The theoretical perfect curve shown in Fig. 8 and the perfect bend shown in Fig. 9 are naturally modified by the bolt holes and the concentrated stresses of the bolts at such point-sl The metal which may be added at the center of the bar to form the crown or crowns according to the present invention is a valuable addition with regard to strength as such metal is placed at maximum distance from the neutral axis.

The angle bars which embody the above structure are preferably made of medium carbon open hearth steel, heat treated and quenched in oil, so as to secure a great strength and toughness and to give a highly resilient metal which acts not only with excellent strength, but to give a suitable spring action.

Since the major part of the wear occurs at the center of the barand a minimum at the ends, it can be seen that `with the variable amount of take-up or clearance provided according to my invention, the maximum takeup is at the place where the maximum is necessary and the minimum is provided similarly where a minimum of take-up is necessary. The result is a highly advantageous structure which is useful, not only in securing greater strength and rigidity at the center in new rail joints, in connection with the joining of new rail ends, but which also has the valuable property of being capable of making a satisfactory joint in connection with the ends of rails which have previously been joined and worn so that a new bar of standard section would no longer produce a perfect joint.

Now the additional metal which the crown represents is preferably applied as an integral part of the bar. hut it will be apparent that such metal may be applied as a separate part as, for example, a shim or plate at the point where the effect of crowning is desired. A single continuous plate may provide the crown at top and bottom of a bar.

I do not intend to be limited to the details shown and described.

I claim:

1. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails comprising a wedge bar having angularly disposed bearing surfaces at its top and bottom edges, said bar being thinner and of greater height at its center than at its ends, said angnlarly disposed bearing surfaces being brought into the planes of the bearing surfaces ofthe railroad rails by deflection of the ends inwardly a distance less than the draw space of the bar with the rail.

2. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, comprisingr a wedge bar having angularly disposed bearing surfaces at its top and bottom edges disposed for cont-act with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being thinner at its center portion than at its end portions.

3. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, comprising a wedge bar having angularly disposed bearing surfaces at its top and bottom edges disposed for contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends. said bar being thinner and of greater height at its center portion than at its end portions.

4. ln a rail joint. a crowned joint liar, the head and flange fishing surfaces ofthe central portion of thc bar twang .straight and uniformly spaced from cach other at each edge, respectively. and such surfaces being in contact with the rail fishing surfaces throughout the length of the bar. there being' dran" space for the full length of the har.

ha r for joiningl adjacent ends of railroad rails. said har bring crowned and coinprising a head portion and a foot portion provided with fishing surfaces disposed and adapted for both center and end contact with tlu` corrcspoiuling surfaces of the rail ends, tho head and l'oot portion fishing surfaces of the central portion of the bar being straight and uniformly spared from cach other at each edge, respectively.

6. A reformed bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion and having a crowned head bearing surface, and the web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

7. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having a crowned foot portion bearing surface, and the web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

8. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having head and foot portion bearing surfaces, the web portion being thpner and higher at the center than at the en s.

9, A renewed bar for rail joints, comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, the web being thinned at the central longitudinal part thereof and the inside of the web being concaved.

10. A renewed bar for rail joints, comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having angular bearing surfaces restored to be cooperable With new rails and having concavities in the central longitudinal portions of the `web and foot portion from which metal has been removed by lateral displacement. 11. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprislng a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, andhaving head and foot portion bearing surfaces and the Web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

12. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having head and foot portion hearing surfaces, said web portion having its outer surface straight throughout its length and its inner surface concave lengthwise of the bar.

13. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having head and footportion bearing surfaces, the web portion having one surface concaved longitudinally.

14. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, said web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

15. A rail joint bar having head and foot bearing surfaces, the central portion of the bar being thinner horizontally than the portions of the bar adjacent said central portion.

16. A rail joint bar. said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail `oint, one of the bearing surfaces of the bar being` of less area of contact per unit of length at its end portions than at its central portion.

17. A rail joint bar, said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end Contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail joint, one of the bearing surfaces of the bar being of less width at its end portions than at its central portion.

1S. A rail joint bar, said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end Contact With the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail 'oint, one of the bearing surfaces of the bar ecreasing in Width from its central portion toward its ends.

19. A rail joint bar, said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corres onding surfaces of the rail ends when the ar is applied in a rai joint, one of the bearing surfaces of the bar decreasing uniformly in width from its central portion toward its ends.

20. A rail joint bar, said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail joint, each of said surfaces of the bar being of less area of contact per unit of length at its end portions than at its center portion.

21. A rail joint bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail joint, each of said surfaces of the bar decreasing in Width from its central portion to- Wards its ends.

22. A rail joint bar, said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail joint, said bar decreasing in thickness toward its ends and the bearing surfaces of the bar correspondingl decreasing in Width toward the ends of the ar.

23. A rail joint bar, said bar being higher at its center than at its ends and having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corres onding surfaces of the rail ends when the Ear is applied in a rail joint, one of said surfaces of the bar being of less area of contact per unit of length at its end portions than at its center portion.

24. A rail joint bar. said bar having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end Contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail joint, said bar decreasing in thickness toward its ends and the bearing surfaces of the har correspondingly decreasing in width toward the ends of the bar, said har being higher at its center than at its ends- In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of February, 1929.

GEORGE LANGFORD.

DISCLAIMER Reissue 17,561.-George Langford, Joliet, Ill. RAIL JOINT. Reissue Patent dated January 14, 1930. Disclaimer filed July 9, 1930, by the assignee, McKenna. Process Company of [//zno/s, patentee, Said Langford, concurring.

Hereby enters the following disclaimer, limiting the aforesaid claims numbers 16 to 24, inclusive, of' said reissued Letters Patent as follows:

l disclaim thinning of the bar at the end portions or thickeningr it at the central portion for any other purpose than to provide reduced end fishing surfaces relative to the central fishing surfaces so to secure an increase in the rate of Wear of the end portion fishing surfaces relative to the central portion in order that the ends of the bar will, when subject to wear, move to the rails lnore nearly equally with the central portion of the bar, and furthermore I restrict myself to a bar provided with reduced-end fishingr surfaces relative to the central fishinpr surfaces and with at least normal draw space between the bar and rail ends at the central portion of the bar.

[Official Gazette J ulg Q9, 1930.] 

